our mall had a welcoming party for santa's arrival. reese was quite excited for a balloon santa hat and face painting. she can't get enough of the face painting.  we made it there just after the party started thinking we would be plenty early but apparently we weren't the only ones with that same idea.  we waited in line for about 40 minutes, just for balloons and face paint, and then santa arrived.  we scratched the balloons and face paint and went straight for santa.  reese was super excited to see him walk in and watch from a distance...and then it was her turn to sit on santa's lap...or shall I say to scream bloody murder until she was carried away?  unfortunately we didn't get the last part on camera, but i'm sure you can imagine what those photos would have looked like!  leading up to the drama, you would have thought it would have gone well...

 (my sister in law and reese waving as santa made his grand entrance)

we will try again with a different santa at a different event and see how things go.

to be continued...